ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s new chief plans to meet Palestinian students and researchers during an upcoming visit to Pakistan, drawing renewed attention to a Pakistan-led education initiative launched to help Palestinians continue studies and research disrupted by conflict.

The initiative, run by the OIC’s Islamabad-based Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), was launched with 500 scholarships and fellowships in 2021 and expanded to 5,000 in 2024, as the war in Gaza devastated educational institutions and left thousands of students struggling to continue their studies.

“The OIC Secretary-General appreciated the continued contributions of COMSTECH and Pakistan toward the Palestinian cause, particularly COMSTECH’s offer of 5,000 fellowships and scholarships for Palestinian students and scholars,” COMSTECH said in a statement on Tuesday following a meeting between Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and its Coordinator-General Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary in Jeddah.

“He expressed his desire to meet Palestinian scholars, medical students, and biomedical researchers during his upcoming visit to Pakistan and appreciated COMSTECH’s continued commitment to supporting the Palestinian scientific and academic community,” the statement added.

Ahmed, who was elected OIC secretary-general earlier this year, did not give a date for his planned Pakistan visit.

During their meeting, Ahmed and Choudhary also discussed cooperation across the OIC on artificial intelligence, health care, pandemic preparedness, water resources, food security and academic mobility.

Ahmed called on COMSTECH to take a leading role in developing an OIC-wide artificial intelligence initiative, arguing that Muslim countries should become developers and innovators in emerging technologies rather than remain primarily users of them.

He also stressed greater cooperation among OIC countries in developing and applying AI while ensuring Islamic ethical principles and values were reflected as the technology evolved.